[SaddlySad]

Hi

I was wondering, when making a CG, which is better :

1- Making the image bigger than the final size wanted, thus allowing you to make more details at the risk of losing them after shrinking it and getting a kinda blury fuzzy result

2- Making the right size form the begening

???

[zaar]

Always make your canvas as large as your hardware allows you to without any slowdowns when painting. I guess thats pretty logic. Image resolution can never be too high in my opinion.

[Derek]

Traditionally work at 125% of the size of your final. If you go too large, then you worry and fuss over detail that will never be seen, or even that shouldn't be. Don't try to render and fill in every pixel with detail. It's wrong, not what our eyes really pick up, and you lose time, therefore money, and areas will get awfully busy. Also, if you have clients in mind, this is something you should get down in writing ahead of time.
For your own portfolio or showcase or book, keep it relatively small. This doesn't mean that you can't work on separate layers or in different files at higher resolution if you need to nail some detail (but don't make a habit of it), then just bring it in and resize it accordingly and place it. Remember that the things that look cool at incredible resolution can look awfully muddled and detracting at the 'correct' size.

[Teaweed]

Just make sure you don't post full-size images, as people occasionally seem want to do. A small version and maybe some additional details is fine.

[Mr. T]

i often work in right size from the beginning, but working in double size is somewhat more practical and easier. plus it covers some errors, heheh. my choice is #1

[Awetopsy]

seriously, make your canvas 2 - 8 times larger than the actual pic will be.. it will just make everything look so much more crisp and clean in the end.

for example... right now Im working on a canvas of 708w x 1416h and the finished pic will only be 177w

[ January 09, 2002: Message edited by: Awetopsy ]

[Loki]

Twice the needed final size is a good rule of the thumb. Don't worry about losing detail - that's not the issue - if you're painting details down to the resolution level (1:1) you'll have a hard time finishing anything.
The reason to go for high resolution is that your brushstrokes will be 'finer'. If you work with a res that's too small, the anti aliasing will make your brushstrokes look soft - by working with a high res, AA is too small to be a factor, so the image will, amongst other things, look sharper.

Also - it takes a few second to downrez an image, but days to paint it up to a higher res ... and it's not a fun job to do either ...